Department for Transport

Traffic Lights

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Report, The Operation of Traffic Signals during Low Demand Periods, published in October 2012, what trials to turn off traffic lights during such periods proposed by local authorities have taken place; what the findings were of those trials; and whether his Department has issued any further guidance on this matter.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The operation of traffic lights is a matter for local authorities. Part-time operation is already possible, but an authority would need to carefully consider the possible impacts, particularly on road safety. The Department has not carried out any trials of turning off traffic lights during low demand periods, and to date it has not been approached by any local authorities wishing to carry out such a trial. The Department has not issued any further guidance on this matter.

Railways: Electrification

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department spent on consultants on electrification in financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15 to date.

Claire Perry: The Department commissioned technical and engineering advice from consultants in respect of electrification in 2013/14 and 2014/15.£38,717.28 (including VAT) was spent in the financial year 2013/14.£104,400.00 (including VAT) has been spent to date in 2014/15.In addition, a research project was carried out in 2010 looking at electrification of Branch Lines with a value of £35,000.00

Railways: Franchises

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the costs of administering each franchise of the Direct Awards programme are.

Claire Perry: The costs of the 4 most recently-completed Direct Award projects have been as follows: Northern £1.536millionGreater Anglia £1.088millionWest Coast £ 0.842millionSoutheastern £ 0.918million In Total: £ 4.384million These figures include staff costs, advisers, “non-pay” administrative costs (for example, IT facilities, training and travel expenses) and VAT.

Midland Main Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what works will be required to overhead wiring south of Bedford as a result of the Midland Main Line electrification programme.

Claire Perry: The Midland Mainline is already electrified from London to Bedford. Work to improve resilience has already begun to prepare the route south of Bedford for the greater number of trains that will run and the higher speeds of the intercity electric trains. This work includes upgrading power supplies and other components.

Directly Operated Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Directly Operated Railways' staff numbers and overall budget are projected to be in each year between 2013-14 and 2016-17.

Claire Perry: Directly Operated Railways’ (DOR) staff numbers were 12 (8.3 FTE) in 2013/14 and are forecast to be 6 (3.5 FTE) at the end of 2014/15.DOR’s gross costs were £3.65 million in 2013/14 and are forecast to be £2.06 million in 2014/15. These costs are met by a combination of management charges to their subsidiary company (East Coast) and charges to the Department for Transport in respect of work undertaken on the rail franchising programme.No forecasts are available beyond 31 March 2015 at present as the future activities of the company will be reviewed following the sale of the East Coast business later this financial year.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what premises officials in his Department are working on High Speed (a) 2 and (b) 3; what the square footage is of each premises; and what the annual cost per square foot of each premises is.

Mr Robert Goodwill: High Speed Rail Group occupy approximately 510 square metres of the third floor Great Minster House (GMH). The cost per square metre in GMH is £850 per annum including VAT. Therefore, the total cost of our accommodation in GMH is £433,500 per annum. The main point to note is that we do not pay for any of this accommodation because it is part of the Department for Transport (DfT) overheads and the Building Services do not recharge any part of DfT for such provision.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in each grade employed by (a) HS2 Ltd and (b) his Department are working on High Speed (i) 2 and (ii) 3; and what the average salary of each of those grades is.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many social housing homes in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, (b) the London Borough of Hackney, (c) London and (d) England have failed to meet the Decent Homes standard in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 21 October 2014, PQ 206256. Figures are held by local authority area, not Parliamentary constituency.

Betting Shops

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of betting shops on high streets; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Gambling Commission publishes figures on the total number of licensed betting shops. Their most recent figures show that as of March 2012, there were 9,128 licensed betting shops in Great Britain; 9,066 as of March 2013; and 9,021 as of March 2014. In other words, the number of betting shops is falling. In April 2014, the Government published its gambling strategy “Gambling protections and controls” including a number of measures to tackle problem gambling and address the problems caused by the Labour Government’s gambling legislation. In July 2014, my Department published a technical consultation paper on planning, which included reforms to require a planning application for a change of use to a betting shop. We are currently reviewing the responses and will publish our conclusions in due course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

South Ossetia

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote dialogue between the Georgian government and South Ossetia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The UK continues to encourage all parties to the conflicts in Georgia, including Russia, to work constructively towards a long-term settlement. We hold frequent discussions with the Georgian government encouraging them to engage with the breakaway regions and with international processes including the Geneva International Talks, the only forum at present where all parties to the conflict meet. We also engage with the EU and other international partners to explore how dialogue between Georgia and its breakaway regions could be promoted. The UK-Georgia Dialogue in London in late November will provide a further opportunity to discuss Georgia’s approach to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The UK plays a leading role in funding projects aimed at improving engagement and dialogue across the conflict divide. For the 2014/15 financial year, the UK is funding over £1.2 million of projects in Georgia from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence, and Department for International Development Conflict Pool focused on this issue.

Nagorno Karabakh

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: I plan to visit both countries in early November where I expect to meet members of their Governments to underline the UK’s keen interest to see this dispute settled peacefully. In addition, UK officials hold discussions with both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani Governments where possible to underline our support for a swift resolution. The UK supports the work of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs at mediating negotiations, and continues to encourage all the parties to engage constructively.Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development Conflict Pool, we have also provided £1.5 million over the past three years for projects aimed at promoting dialogue, and strengthening the civil societies of both countries.

Montenegro

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Montenegrin counterpart on Montenegro joining NATO; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with his counterparts from NATO Allies and NATO’s aspiring members (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro) on 4 September 2014 during the NATO Summit in Wales. During this meeting their progress towards joining the Alliance was discussed, among other issues. At the Summit, NATO Foreign Ministers agreed to commence ‘intensified and focused talks’ with Montenegro before reassessing their progress no later than December 2015. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s Open Door policy on enlargement and welcomes the membership aspirations of all the countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

Lord Mayor of London

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times the Lord Mayor of London has travelled overseas on an official visit organised and funded by his Department; for what purpose each visit was undertaken; what class of travel was used in each case; and at what cost on each occasion.

Mr David Lidington: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Georgia

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Georgian counterpart on Georgia joining NATO; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with his counterparts from NATO Allies and NATO’s aspiring members (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro) on 4 September 2014 during the NATO Summit in Wales. During this meeting their progress towards joining the Alliance was discussed, among other issues.At the Summit, NATO Foreign Ministers agreed to provide a ‘substantial package’ of support and engagement measures to Georgia in recognition of the reform progress they have made.The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s Open Door policy on enlargement and welcomes the membership aspirations of all the countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Bosnian counterpart on Bosnia and Herzegovina joining NATO; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with his counterparts from NATO Allies and NATO’s aspiring members (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro) on 4 September 2014 during the NATO Summit in Wales. During this meeting their progress towards joining the Alliance was discussed, among other issues.At the Summit NATO Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their continued support for Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet the established conditions on which the next steps towards NATO depend.The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s Open Door policy on enlargement and welcomes the membership aspirations of all the countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

Abkhazia

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote dialogue between the Georgian government and Abkhazia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The UK continues to encourage all parties to the conflicts in Georgia, including Russia, to work constructively towards a long-term settlement. We hold frequent discussions with the Georgian Government encouraging them to engage with the breakaway regions and with international processes including the Geneva International Talks, the only forum at present where all parties to the conflict meet. We also engage with the EU and other international partners to explore how dialogue between Georgia and its breakaway regions could be promoted. The UK-Georgia Dialogue in London in late November will provide a further opportunity to discuss Georgia’s approach to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.The UK plays a leading role in funding projects aimed at improving engagement and dialogue across the conflict divide. For the 2014/15 financial year, the UK is funding over £1.2 million of projects in Georgia from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development Conflict Pool focused on this issue.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage support from legislators in the US for British sovereignty over Gibraltar.

Mr David Lidington: I am grateful for the support that members of the US Congress have shown for Gibraltar and we are working with them to build support for Gibraltar’s right to choose to remain under British sovereignty. The UK has given a firm commitment that we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the Sovereignty of another State against their wishes. Furthermore we have given an assurance that we will not enter into a process of Sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. The wishes of the people of Gibraltar to remain British must be respected. The UK’s position on sovereignty was reaffirmed most recently in the UN Fourth Committee.

Cyprus

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of the misselling of and corruption related to mortgages for properties for UK citizens buying in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly brief me on the scale of property problems in Cyprus and the distressing impact it is having on individuals. Most cases of mis-selling relate to purchases that were made between 2005 and 2010. Many purchasers and investors were advised to take out mortgages in Swiss Francs. As the Swiss Franc strengthened the cost of loans rose. Those affected complain that they were not properly advised that interest rates and exchange rates could rise which would affect the cost of their mortgage over time. We are also aware of allegations that lawyers and property professionals were working collectively and against the best interests of foreign buyers.The British Government has no authority to intervene in matters concerning Cypriot domestic legislation. However, we continue to work with the Cypriot government to assist in finding resolutions to problems related to property purchases in Cyprus. This has included organising working visits to the UK for staff from the Cypriot Land Registry and the Financial Ombudsman. The High Commission is involved in assisting with public sector reform - specifically with the Ministry of Justice and local government – which will ultimately impact on the way property issues are dealt with.Although we cannot intervene in individual cases, we do raise wider property problems by lobbying at high level. Both the Leader of the House of Commons and First Secretary of State, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I have raised property issues experienced by British nationals with the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides. Most recently I raised the subject with Mr Kasoulides on 23 July and Cyprus property mis-selling was raised in the UK Parliament on 22 July. The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Defence of the Interests of British Property Owners in Cyprus also met and discussed the issue on 14 October. Our former and current High Commissioners in Cyprus have regularly raised property issues with the Cypriot Attorney-General and the Finance Minister.Our lobbying is having an effect. The Cypriot government has set up a Ministerial Committee to look at addressing property issues. This is a positive step and we are working with the authorities to encourage the committee to take effective action.We recognise the significant impact that property disputes has on many families in the UK, some of whom risk losing their life savings. We strongly believe that those affected should continue to pursue their cases through the Cypriot (and if appropriate the UK) courts though we recognise that for many this will be an expensive and protracted route. In parallel we remain committed to lobbying at high level to encourage the Cypriot government to take effective action to resolve existing problems and to reform the property sector to prevent such problems occurring in the future.

Kenya

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Kenyan counterpart on the threat of Islamist militants in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Ministers and officials regularly discuss the terrorist threat in Kenya with the Kenyan Government. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Mr Duddridge) discussed the importance of an effective and human rights compliant counter-terrorism response with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade in September 2014. We have a shared interest in tackling this threat and the UK actively supports Kenya to do so in a manner consistent with its Constitution and international law.

West Africa

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's financial share is of the EU's contribution to fighting the spread of Ebola.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has committed £225 million (approximately €285 million) to fight Ebola in West Africa. This equates to more than 25 per cent of the €1 billion pledged by the EU and its Member States and makes us the second-highest bilateral donor after the United States.

Cabinet Office

Sunningdale Park

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the former Civil Service College at Sunningdale in each of the last four financial years; and what spending is planned on the college.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what income accrued to his Department from commercial activities at the former premises of the Civil Service College, Sunningdale, in each of the last four financial years; and if he will publish a list of users of those premises.

Mr Francis Maude: Information on the former premises of the National School of Government (previously the Civil Service College), Sunningdale, is available in the Cabinet Office accounts, available here from 2011-12 onwards at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts.In 2010-11 the National School of Government was a non-ministerial department and reported income within its Annual Report and Accounts. These can be found on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/search?q=National+School+of+Government

Unemployment: Young People

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of young people between 16 and 25 years were not in work, training or education in (a) Bury St Edmunds, (b) Suffolk and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS letter to Member - People not in work training
(PDF Document, 104.11 KB)

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many 18 to 21 year olds are claiming jobseeker's allowance in each English region; and what proportion of all 18 to 21 year olds in each region this represents.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Jobseekers Allowance
(PDF Document, 183.35 KB)

Attorney General

GPT Special Project Management

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office has sought his assistance with securing evidence from the Ministry of Defence in relation to its investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd.

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Attorney General, whether any representations have been made to him or to the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) stating that the public interest would be served by entering into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in relation to the SFO's investigation of GPT Special Project Management Ltd.

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Attorney General, how many meetings staff from the Serious Fraud Office have had with officials of the Ministry of Defence in relation to its investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd; and on what dates those meetings took place.

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Attorney General, whether he has conducted a public interest consultation exercise or sought ministerial representations on the public interest in relation to the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Attorney General and I meet the Director frequently to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.   The Serious Fraud Office announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however it would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on the progress of current investigations.

Marriage of Convenience

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has brought on breaches of immigration law arising from sham marriages in each of the last five financial years.

Mr Robert Buckland: Offences of breaching immigration law may be prosecuted by way of Section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971 (assisting unlawful immigration to a European Union Member State) or by way of Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act (conspiracy).The offence created by Section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971 encompasses both the offence of assisting illegal entry (whether by smuggling someone in a vehicle or by providing false documents for presentation at a port) or by assisting someone to remain by deception (for example, by entering into a sham marriage) which facilitate a breach of the immigration laws. Conspiracies to facilitate breaches of immigration law are charged by way of Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) indicate the number of offences charged, in which a prosecution commenced at magistrates’ courts for assisting unlawful immigration or conspiracy. However it is not possible to disaggregate which of these offences relate to sham marriages rather than other immigration law breaches without reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Disabled Students' Allowances

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received calling for a public consultation on proposed changes to disabled students' allowance.

Greg Clark: Over the summer Ministers and officials undertook extensive discussions with a wide range of stakeholders regarding changes to DSA.

Students: Disability

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that disabled pupils have information in advance of an application to a higher education institution on what reasonable adjustments that institution will make to meet their needs.

Greg Clark: A variety of information is already available to students, both through the Unistats website - http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/ - and from individual Institutions. Institutions are considering what additional information may be necessary in light of the announcement on changes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

Mass Media

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses his Department's press office has made to enquiries from student journalists in the last year.

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally.

Local Growth Fund: North Yorkshire

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received on the Local Growth Fund allocation to North Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Growth Deal is part of the £12 billion long-term programme to revitalise local economies.   The Growth Deal for York, North Yorkshire and East Riding will see investment of £110 million to support economic growth in the area, including creating up to 4,000 jobs and allowing up to 5,000 homes to be built. As the Leader of North Yorkshire Council said “this long-term investment from Government recognises the potential of the rural economy in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding”. I am determined that we build on this and officials are currently discussing with the local enterprise partnership its priorities for the next round of Growth Deals, as well as advising and supporting on delivery arrangements for projects that have already received funding.

Disabled Students' Allowances: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people in each parliamentary constituency in the East Midlands received disabled students' allowance in each of the last five years.

Greg Clark: Information on students awarded and paid Disabled Students’ Allowance is published annually by Student Loans Company (SLC) ’. The latest statistics are available at the following link:   http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf   The number of students who received disabled students’ allowance in each parliamentary constituency in the East Midlands in each of the last three years is provided in the table. Comparable data for earlier years is not readily available. 



Students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.28 KB)

Technology: Urban Areas

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made with the Smart Cities programme; and if he will make a  statement.

Greg Clark: The Government encourages UK cities to take up innovative initiatives and adopt modern technology to respond to developing urban needs.   The Government has set up the Smart Cities Forum to bring together cities, industry and experts to identify and explore emerging policy issues. In order to benefit from the experiences of other Governments and European cities, the Government is a partner in a commitment within the European Innovation Partnership to share best practice.   The Future Cities Catapult has been established as a Centre of Excellence and works to develop and support urban innovation. Projects in Glasgow, London, Bristol and Peterborough have been funded by Innovate UK to demonstrate and display smart applications to improve city services and quality of life.   To ensure readiness to future developments, the Government Office for Science is undertaking the Foresight Future of Cities project, which explores opportunities and challenges facing UK cities over the next 50 years.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has sought views from individual disabled pupils about the impact of proposed changes to disabled students allowance.

Greg Clark: A wide range of stakeholders – including disabled students – were consulted and helped inform the proposed changes to disabled students allowance.

Apprentices: Fareham

Mr Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices have been employed by companies in Fareham constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: Data for each of the last 3 years on the number of Apprenticeship starts by workplace location is shown in Table 1. Geographic information for workplace location is not available for earlier years.   Table 1: Apprenticeship starts by workplace location  2010/112011/122012/13Fareham Constituency590640840Source: Individualised Learner Record (ILR)   Additional information on the number of workplaces employing apprentices by geography is published at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/309551/apprenticeship-workplaces-by-region-and-constituency.xls

Disabled Students' Allowances

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what criteria his Department used to determine which bodies should be consulted over proposed changes to disabled students allowance.

Greg Clark: The Government engaged with stakeholders extensively over the summer, including Higher Education Institutes, National Union of Students, Universities UK, disability groups and assessment centres. We also received a number of letters and evidence from stakeholders.

Students: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many appeals have been (a) made to and (b) upheld by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator by disabled pupils about a failure by a higher education institution to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

Greg Clark: The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education does not publish this data.

Research Councils: Grants

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on gender diversity in research of the process by which the Research Councils award grants.

Greg Clark: Research Councils routinely collect data on board and committee membership, application and success rates by gender and age and this is routinely reviewed. This shows that female membership of Councils, Boards and Committees increased between 2010/11 and 2012/13 with some variation between councils.  The dataset is available at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/RCUK-prod/assets/documents/skills/GenderapplicantsAwardsNumber.pdf

Higher Education: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the funding that higher education institutions receive to recruit and support disabled students is ring-fenced for that purpose.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the funding given to high education institutions to recruit and support disabled children.

Greg Clark: Higher education institutions are autonomous and independent bodies. They are responsible for meeting their legal obligation to promote disability equality and make reasonable adjustments for disabled people under the Disability Act 2010.   The Government’s funding reforms are providing significant and rising income to institutions to perform all of their duties, including those relating to disability.

Minimum Wage

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many employers in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, (b) the London Borough of Hackney, (c) London and (d) England that have broken the national minimum wage law have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) named since the revision to the national minimum wage law came into effect on 1 October 2013.

Jo Swinson: The Government has named 30 employers under the revised Naming and Shaming. Between them they owed workers a total of over £50,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £24,000. Details of these employers can be found on the original press notices (28 February 2014 and 8 June 2014), including the town in which the employer is based. However, these organisations may employ staff or have offices or other operations in other geographical locations.No employers have been prosecuted under the National Minimum Wage Act since October 2013.

Temporary Employment

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen enforcement of regulatory safeguards for agency workers.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills takes a targeted approach to enforcing employment law protections for agency workers.   The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) enforce the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (both as amended).   These Regulations ensure protections for work-seekers because of the number of parties involved in the employment relationship – the work-seeker, the agency and the hirer. The Regulations include protections relating to ensuring work-seekers must be paid for all hours worked, cannot be charged a fee for work-finding and cannot be prevented from taking up a permanent position with a hirer. Employment agencies must also comply with national minimum wage (NMW) legislation which is enforced by HM Revenue and Customs. There are also health and safety protections in place for all workers, which are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. EAS works collaboratively with these bodies on investigations and also works with a number of external bodies These include trade associations, Trading Standards and organisations such as SAFERjobs (Safe Advice for Employment and Recruitment).   SAFRERjobs is a non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation set up to raise awareness and combat criminal activities that may be attempted on those seeking a job, or through the services provided by the recruitment industry.

Students: Finance

Mr David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, when Student Finance England will issue guidance for students intending to apply for financial support for 2015-16.

Greg Clark: Student Finance England will issue new guidance for current and prospective higher education students intending to apply for financial support for 2015/16 in the New Year. This will be available in a variety of formats. Information on financial support for 2015/16 is already available for students on a number of websites, including Gov.uk.

Video Games

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many grants were distributed to the video games industry under Innovate UK's Smart Programme in 2013-14; and what the value of such grants was.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Eleven grant offers were issued to businesses in the video games industry under Innovate UK's Smart Programme in 2013-14. The total value of those grants was £971,179.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Females

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage female political participation in developing countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID is supporting increased women’s political representation and participation at national, local and community levels in a number of developing countries. This includes work on participation in elections and promoting women’s voice through the media and civil society programmes. In the new international ‘post-2015’ framework, DFID is pushing for targets that will increase women’s leadership and participation in decision-making processes in terms of numerical representation as well as substantive representation and effective voice.

Tunisia

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the availability and suitability of health services in Tunisia.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID funding is supporting Tunisia’s transition to a more inclusive and sustainable economy and democracy. Our direct support, in the form of the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), is working in three areas: job creation, economic growth, and effective and accountable institutions.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations she has received from pharmaceutical companies on the development of a vaccine for malaria; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: A long-lasting, efficacious and cost-effective vaccine would make a major contribution to malaria control. In October 2014 DFID last received an update on progress from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), who have been developing the RTS,S vaccine with the non-profit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI). We will be looking closely at the results of the phase III trials of the RTS,S vaccine when they are released and the position of the World Health Organisation, who will not formally review the evidence and take a policy decision on the vaccine until 2015.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to prevent the spread of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK investment of up to £500m each year on malaria has helped high burden countries and communities scale up the right mix of good quality malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment. This has contributed to averting 3.3 million malaria deaths between 2001 and 2012 and the shrinking of the global malaria footprint. We are also investing in the future, by developing new treatments and new prevention approaches so that countries will be able to free themselves from malaria.

West Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to West African countries affected by Ebola to conduct screening of passengers at airports; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: Airport screening on departure from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia was introduced several weeks ago under the leadership of the national Governments and the Centre for Disease Control is providing assistance with training and monitoring.

Armed Conflict: Females

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help end violence against women and girls in conflict zones.

Justine Greening: Ending all forms of violence against women and girls, including in conflict zones, is a key priority for the UK Government. Since 2012, DFID has delivered a six-fold increase in the number of humanitarian assistance programmes that include prevention or response to violence against women and girls. Many of these programmes are in countries affected by conflict.   I recently reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to protecting women and girls from violence in every humanitarian response at the UN General Assembly.

Department for Education

Carers: Young People

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support young carers in school.

Mr Edward Timpson: Recent research shows that young carers have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level than their peers, equivalent to nine grades lower overall. That’s the difference between nine Bs and nine Cs. That shows why it is so important that schools are able to identify and support pupils who are young carers. However a legislative approach compelling them to do so is not in keeping with our drive to reduce burdens on schools. It is important that headteachers and governors have the freedoms they need to meet their responsibilities for the welfare of their pupils in the way they consider is most appropriate. I am very grateful for the support of the National Governors’ Association in raising awareness about the needs of young carers and sharing resources with governing bodies. Whilst there is a lot of good practice in schools, there remains much to do to make this more widely available. That is why I welcome two exciting new developments led by the voluntary sector. The Big Lottery Fund are financing The Children’s Society’s “Young Carers in Focus” programme to launch a national award scheme that allows schools to be recognised for the quality of support for their young carers. The Queen’s Trust too are funding Carers Trust to develop and test best practice on young carer support in schools. Both of these initiatives will build on the work my Department has been doing with The Children’s Society and Carers Trust since 2011 to share existing tools and good practice. This includes development of an e-learning module for school staff to increase awareness in schools of young carers’ needs. We are planning to update this soon to reflect the new legislation but the current version is available on The Children’s Society’s website: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Young-Carers-Web-Pub-v13/player.html The Department of Health are also training school nurses to be champions for young carers. They will speak up on their behalf and help headteachers and governors decide how best to support them at school. At present we do not plan to extend the pupil premium eligibility criteria to cover young carers (or any other group). Our policy is to allocate pupil premium funding to those pupils who have experienced financial disadvantage but there is a significant cross-over between young carers and the current pupil premium target population. Research indicates that as many as 60 per cent of young carers could be eligible for free school meals, so already attract the pupil premium. We will continue to encourage schools to use the resources that are already freely available to them and to make links to their local young carers support group.

Foster Care

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in each local authority were in a foster care placement on 31 March (a) 2008, (b) 2010, (c) 2013 and (d) 2014; how many such children in each local authority were in a foster care placement with a relative or friend (i) inside and (ii) outside the authority boundary on each of those dates; how many such children in each local authority were under (A) an interim and (B) a full court order on each of those dates; and how many such children in each local authority area were looked after under a voluntary agreement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 on each of those dates.

Mr Edward Timpson: Data for 2008, 2010 and 2013 has been placed in the Library. Data for 2014 will be published in December 2014.

Annual Reports

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2013-14 has not yet been published; and when that report is due to be published.

Mr Nick Gibb: The 2013-14 Departmental Consolidated Accounts are the second set of accounts to include academy trusts information. The sheer size and complexity of the consolidation means that the accounts could not be laid within the usual Parliamentary pre-summer recess timeframe. The Department for Education has advised the Public Accounts Committee it aims to lay the annual report and accounts in December 2014, a month earlier than was possible last year.

Secondary Education: Teaching Methods

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children at secondary school are being efficiently grouped according to their academic ability.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education believes that individual schools are best placed to determine whether and how to group children by academic ability. There are many different models of pupil grouping, and schools themselves are best able to respond to their individual circumstances to meet the needs and capabilities of their pupils.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many SENCO-accredited courses are being run in (a) colleges and (b) universities in 2013-14.

Mr David Laws: As a Master’s-level qualification, all SENCO-accredited courses are either delivered by or ratified by Higher Education establishments. In 2013-2014, SENCO-accredited courses are being run by 21 universities and 3 training providers, working in partnership with universities. Since the inception of the training, 10,119 SENCOs have been funded to take the award, which equates to approximately 40% of the schools in the country.

Schools: Fees and Charges

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that schools do not use charges for uniform, school trips and other activities as a means of selection.

Mr David Laws: No child should be discouraged from applying to or attending a state-funded school due to the costs of uniform or school activities. The Department for Education has published clear guidance to schools on school uniform which advises schools to give high priority to ensuring the uniform is affordable for parents. We have also published guidance on charging for school activities which reminds schools of their statutory responsibilities regarding charging for school trips and other school activities. The school uniform guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform The guidance on charging for school activities is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/charging-for-school-activities

Children: Poverty

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Children's Commission on Poverty report, At What Cost? Exposing the impact of poverty on school life, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that poverty does not prevent children and young people taking full advantage of school life.

Mr David Laws: The Government is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background, benefit from an education which allows them to achieve their full potential. This is primarily being achieved by additional Government investment to ensure that poor children do not miss out on a good education. For example, through our pupil premium, worth £2.5 billion a year, we are helping schools to transform the way they educate disadvantaged children. We have invested £340 million to support cultural education and announced an additional £18 million funding boost for music education, giving thousands more disadvantaged pupils access to instruments. A recent Ofsted report showed that our policies are working, and the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is closing. From 1 September the Government extended provision of free school meals to all children in reception, year 1, and year 2. As a result, 100,000 more poor children are receiving a hot, healthy and nutritious meal every day, saving low-income families around £400 per year per child. Together, these policies will help to achieve our goal of breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty and closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged schoolchildren.

Schools: Uniforms

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit schools from taking a commission on the sale of school uniform to parents.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education’s school uniform guidance is clear that schools should not seek to profit from the sale of school uniform. Revisions made in September 2013 emphasise the importance of ensuring that uniform is widely available and affordable for parents. The guidance sets out that governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers, and that any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible. The school uniform guidance is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Primary Education: Swimming

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all primary school children (a) learn to swim and (b) are knowledgeable about water safety.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Government is committed to ensuring that swimming and teaching water safety takes place in schools. Swimming is compulsory for maintained schools in the national curriculum. All pupils must be taught to swim at least 25 metres unaided and be able to use recognised swimming strokes by the end of key stage 2 (age 11). It also requires that a child can demonstrate an understanding of water safety. The Government has committed over £450 million of ring-fenced funding up to and including 2015/16 for primary schools to improve their provision of PE and sport. Head teachers are best placed to decide how the funding should be used. They can choose to provide additional training and instruction in swimming and water safety but this must be over and above the requirements of the national curriculum. There are a range of resources to help schools provide high quality teaching, including from organisations such as the Amateur Swimming Association and from the Royal Lifesaving Society.

Ministry of Justice

Youth Custody: Education

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to provide children in custody with better education; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: We are putting education at the heart of youth custody. We intend to open a Secure College pathfinder in Leicestershire in 2017, to give young people the skills, qualifications and self-discipline needed to turn their back on crime and become productive members of society. Secure Colleges will have strong educational leadership, with a head teacher or principal at the centre of the leadership team. They will put learning, vocational training and life skills at the core of a regime which educates and rehabilitates young offenders. At present young people in Youth Offending Institutions (YOIs) receive only 12 hours of education per week on average, which is insufficient. A competition is underway for new contracts which will more than double the number of hours young people in YOIs spend in education each week. There will be a focus on providing an equivalent quality of education to that offered outside custody. Providers will be challenged to deliver a broad and engaging curriculum reflecting the needs, abilities and ambitions of young people in YOIs, including an emphasis on core skills, vocational training and employment skills. Providers will also deliver a dedicated outreach service for any young people unable to attend classroom education. The Provider teams will be led by a head teacher or principal overseeing delivery of education. This person will also be a member of the senior management team of the establishment. The new service is due to commence in spring 2015 with a requirement that each YOI achieves a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating by Spring 2016.

Pornography: Internet

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent the distribution of revenge porn; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government is creating, in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, a new criminal offence which targets those who disclose private sexual photographs and films without the consent of the person depicted and with intent to cause that person distress. The provisions to create the new offence were tabled as a Government Amendment at Lords Report stage of the Bill on 20 October and were warmly received and supported across the House. The offence will cover the disclosure of private and sexual photographs or films of individuals who have not consented to this disclosure, such as those of them engaged in sexual activity, depicted in a sexual way, or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public. It will apply to disclosures taking place online and offline. The offence will attract a two-year maximum prison sentence.

Young Offenders: Education

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made on the level of academic attainment for incarcerated young offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: We are putting education and training at the heart of youth custody through the creation of Secure Colleges. These will be give young people the skills, qualifications and self-discipline needed to turn their back on crime and become productive members of society. In addition, a competition is underway for new contracts which will aim to more than double the number of hours young people in Young Offenders Institutions spend in education each week. Evidence relating to education in custody has been included in recent publications by the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board (YJB). This information relates to the proportions of the young offenders in education and the classes / vocational training taken. The publications can be accessed via the following links: - Ministry of Justice: Transforming Youth Custody Consultation (https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-youth-custody)- Youth Justice Board: Young People and the Secure Estate: Needs and Intervention (http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_30943-9.pdf)- HM Inspectorate of Prisons: Children and Young People in Custody (http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate-reports/hmipris/summaries-of-juvenile-survey-responses/hmip-children-young-people-in-custody-12-13.pdf)

Courts: Training

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of officials in his Department have undergone specialist training on working with victims of sexual assault in a court environment.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Training provided to court staff is not restricted to victims of sexual assault but covers all vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses. All court staff who interact with vulnerable and intimidated witnesses are provided with the relevant training via e-learning and face to face training to help support them in this role. There are two principal training courses: Crown & Magistrates Court Witness Liaison Officer Awareness training and Vulnerable & Intimidated Witnesses Awareness training for court ushers. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service remains committed to training court staff who come into direct contact with victims and witnesses in the court environment, and has pledged to set ‘specific job objectives on the care of victims’ for operational staff by April 2015.

Prisons: Drugs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of violent incidents in prisons linked to legal highs in the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Violence of any kind in prison is not tolerated and all assaults are treated extremely seriously. The reason behind a violent incident is not routinely recorded and therefore we do not have an estimate of the number of violent incidents that might be attributable to the use of legal highs. The National Offender Management Service is taking appropriate steps to tackle violence and after conducting a comprehensive review will be issuing further guidance early next year. Work is also underway with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that violent crimes are investigated and prosecuted.

Adoption

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals against placement orders have been issued in family courts since 2010; and how many of those appeals have been allowed.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many opposed applications for placement orders have been issued by local authorities in family courts since 2010; and how many of those applications have been ordered by the court.

Mr Shailesh Vara: HMCTS’ Family Court case management system records contested placement applications and their outcome. Data is available from the system from 2011 only as the functionality to record placement orders went fully live in that year. Data from 2011 to September 2014 is provided in the table below. Data from 2010-11 could only be provided at disproportionate cost due to the need to manually check local case files. The Family Court case management system does not hold information on placement order appeals. It records any appeal applications made within a case but not what the appeal was against or whether it was upheld or rejected. We could only say how many appeals were made against placement orders by manually checking each case file in which a placement order was made to see if it had been appealed and check the outcome. This would incur disproportionate costs.Contested Placement Order Applications and Orders Made January 2011 to September 2014Calendar YearContested Placement ApplicationsPlacement Orders Made2011*272239201235431220133382332014 (January to September)*12762*Note:Functionality to record Adoption and Children Act 2002 proceedings (including placements) was added to the family case management system by December 2010 but the data was not considered to have stabilised until the end of the first quarter in calendar year 2011.Order figures are 'case tracked' and therefore not all applications will necessarily have been concluded, especially those made in 2014. This is the reason that there are a higher proportion of unconcluded cases in January-September 2014, compared to previous years: as placement cases can take several months, many of those contested will not yet have concluded.

Fines

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of fines (a) issued by the courts and (b) collected was in financial year 2013-14.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years, reaching a record high in 2013-14. HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer. The total value of fines (a) issued by the courts and (b) collected in the financial year 2013-14 is set out below. Financial YearAmount imposedAmount collected2013-14£420,255,840£290,311,831 The total amount collected in the financial year 2013-14 was a record high and was £5.8 million higher than the previous financial year. The amounts above include all elements of financial impositions (excluding confiscation orders): fines, costs, compensation and victim surcharge. The amounts collected in a particular year can relate to impositions from that year or any previous year. The amounts include those that were being paid by instalments or were not due for payment by the end of the year.

Divorce: Internet

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the announcement on 23 October 2014 by the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties on more support for separating couples and parents, how much of the new £2 million package will be spent on improving the Government's Sorting Out Separation website.

Simon Hughes: The Government is committed to making sure that when people separate they do it in the best possible way. Too many people end up fighting expensive and confrontational court battles when they could be helped to resolve their problems outside the courts. However when people do end up in court it is imperative that they have the right advice and information. The new package of support which I announced on 23 October is aimed at keeping disputes away from court, while those who end up in court will be provided with better support. The £2m funding identified in the announcement will be used to support the increase of legal and practical support for litigants in person in the civil and family courts. This strategy has been agreed with the legal and advice sectors and we are working with them on implementation.The funding will not be used to support improvements to the DWP's Sorting out Separation website. This is because we are already working closely with DWP to improve and refine Sorting out Seperation. The DWP has appointed commercial providers with digital expertise to run the new contract for strategic development and improvement of the online service and to raise its profile for online search. MoJ and DWP are working closely with providers as their recommendations are implemented.

Divorce

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to integrate the new supporting separated parents in dispute helpline pilot to be run by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service with the Sorting Out Separation Service and the Child Maintenance Options Service operated by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Simon Hughes: The ‘supporting separated parents in dispute helpline’ pilot is complementary to the online Sorting out Separation information and advice service. However, the pilot is different because it will test the provision of tailored information and signposting based on a telephone discussion with an experienced Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) professional. The Cafcass professional will signpost separating parents in dispute to sources of information, advice and support appropriate to their circumstances, which could include Sorting out Separation or the Child Maintenance Options online and telephone service, as appropriate. Additionally, we are working closely with DWP to improve and refine Sorting out Separation. The DWP has appointed commercial providers with digital expertise to run the new contract for strategic development and improvement of the online service and to raise its profile for online search. MoJ and DWP are working closely with providers as their recommendations are implemented.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register

Simon Hart: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assistance is offered to households where residents may not have the capability or capacity to complete individual electoral registration forms.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission provides non-statutory guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) which covers what they and others can and should do when assisting those who need help to register. The guidance recommends that EROs should provide telephone and/or in-person registration to assist applicants with disabilities and to meet their equalities obligations, and should use personal canvassers to provide assistance with completing registration applications to those who need it. Individuals can also now register to vote online. The Commission has also been encouraging EROs to identify partners, including disability organisations, to work with locally to help reach electors, and has been working itself to engage with partners at a national level. The Commission would also encourage honourable members to meet with their local ERO to discuss what plans they have in place to support those residents who may need help, as well as to maximise registration of all eligible electors, in the run up to the General Election.

Leader of the House

Public Opinion

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Leader of the House, how much his Office spent on (a) focus groups and (b) surveys in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date.

Mr William Hague: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. Our answer is included in the response by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Ministry of Defence

Colombia

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units of the Colombian military have received British military training in the last three years.

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British personnel have been deployed to Colombia to participate in training assistance in the last six months.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has an ongoing programme of military support to Colombia in the area of counter-narcotics; however we do not release any detailed information as it would undermine operational effectiveness and would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the UK's ability to respond militarily to threats to Gibraltar.

Mr Mark Francois: The Government takes its responsibility for protecting Gibraltar against any threat very seriously. A range of military, police and diplomatic responses are available. We continually monitor the situation and adjust our force posture and resources as appropriate. I am confident that current capabilities are commensurate with any potential threat.

Armed Forces: Compensation

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what change there has been in the time taken to process War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims since 2010.

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the factors responsible for delays in processing injured Armed Forces veterans' War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims.

Anna Soubry: The combined effects of the implementation of the Boyce Review on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the increase in the number of applications for War Disablement Pension, as a result of more people with pre-April 2005 Service reaching the end of their engagement, led to delays in processing prospective claims for these schemes. Actions were therefore put in place which had the effect of reducing the on-hand cases in the AFCS by half and the programme has returned to target. In War Disablement Pension the on-hand cases have fallen by 35% and waiting times have reduced. The average length of time taken to process War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims since 2010 can be found below: WAR PENSIONS SCHEME 2010-11 - 39 working days2011-12 - 51 working days2012-13 - 82 working days2013-14 - 110 working days2014-15 (as at 21 October 2014) - 103 working days  ARMED FORCES COMPENSATION SCHEME 2010-11 - 93 working days2011-12 - 125 working days2012-13 - 164 working days2013-14 - 109 working days2014-15 (as at 21 October 2014) - 89 working days

Gibraltar

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what UK (a) military and (b) civilian assets are stationed in Gibraltar; and what their duties are.

Mr Mark Francois: As at 28 October 2014 there were around 155 UK military personnel serving in Gibraltar in Headquarters British Forces Gibraltar, the Royal Naval Gibraltar Squadron, and Windmill Hill Signal Station providing a range of enabling functions. A further 705 Ministry of Defence UK-based and locally employed civilian personnel provide support services to Defence operations, including 95 serving in the Gibraltar Defence Police. Additionally, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment comprises 226 full-time and 166 reserve personnel. The role of these assets collectively is to provide for the security and territorial integrity of Gibraltar and British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, and to enable the maintenance of Gibraltar as a forward mounting base for UK military operations. In addition, personnel from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment deploy on UK military operations.

Gurkhas: Pensions

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of former Gurkhas who left service on or after 1 July 1997 and transferred to Armed Forces Pension Scheme who are receiving less benefit than if they had remained in the Gurkha Pension Scheme.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Offenders

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2014 to Question 210743, when the changes to the habitation of offenders legislation came into force; when his Department became aware of this change; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2014 to Question 210743, what the nature is of the disciplinary action taken against the four serving members of the armed forces who lodged complaints which were subsequently and remain stayed; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: In my answer of 21 October 2014 to Question UIN 210743 I referred to 2011 as being the year in which changes to rehabilitation legislation came into effect. I should clarify that this was, in fact, the year in which we first recognised the implications of the changes, which came into effect in December 2008. My answer to your question on 28 April 2014 (Official Report, columns 443-444W) explained that, since the implications of the changes were recognised, no administrative action has been taken against service personnel who received a police caution that is immediately spent. We do not comment on individual complaints.

Middle East

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 21 October 2014, Official Report, column 63WS, on the Middle East, from which bases the UK's (a) Reaper UAVs and (b) River Joint aircraft operate for their surveillance missions over Iraq and Syria.

Mr Mark Francois: I am withholding the information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice operational capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces and also relations between the United Kingdom and another State.

Syria

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 21 October 2014, Official Report, column 63WS, on the Middle East, how many of the UK's Reaper aircraft will be deployed for surveillance missions over Syria.

Mr Mark Francois: We have initially deployed two Reaper aircraft for operations in the Middle East, including for surveillance missions over Syria. As Reaper numbers in Afghanistan reduce we intend to move more to the Middle East, adding to our coverage.

West Africa

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by his Department in responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that will be recovered from the Department for International Development.

Mr Mark Francois: The Department continues to work with the Department for International Development to refine the estimate for costs for the Ebola operation, this work is still ongoing.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear weapons emergency exercises his Department's defence nuclear emergencies organisation has conducted since May 2010; and if he will publish on his Department's website the reports of such exercises.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence and its contractors conduct nuclear weapons emergency exercises to ensure the continued safe operation of the nuclear deterrent programme at locations across the UK, including the Atomic Weapons Establishment and Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, and also in relation to the road convoy transport operation.Between May 2010 and October 2014, 38 exercises were conducted. These included training exercises to test emergency plans and demonstration exercises. An Exercise Director's Post Exercise Report is issued for each such exercise, and a regulator's report is also issued for those exercises which are subject to formal assessment.To publish all of these reports would require a lengthy review process that could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions

Housing Benefit

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy that people entitled to carer's allowance are included in the groups that qualify for the childcare costs earnings disregard for the purposes of calculating housing benefit.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department has no plans to amend housing benefit regulations to include entitlement to carer’s allowance to the groups who qualify for the childcare costs earnings disregard.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether information about how disabled people can make an application to personal independence payment by email or letter is included in all correspondence and publicity about this benefit.

Mr Mark Harper: Details of how to claim Personal Independence Payment are included in the PIP leaflet and are also published on GOV.UK. There is not yet a secure facility to allow claims to be made by email but this is part of our future plans.

Personal Independence Payment

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases have been registered for personal independence payment in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, (b) the London Borough of Hackney, (c) London and (d) England to date.

Mr Mark Harper: Such information as is available on personal independence payment cases registered below national level has been published and is available in the data tables which accompany the most recent release of statistics on 17 September: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-july-2014

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many allegations of benefit fraud his Department received in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department does not hold official statistics which have been quality checked to an acceptable standard as defined by the UK Statistics Authority.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to distinguish between legitimate and malicious allegations of benefit fraud.

Mr Mark Harper: Claimants are formally interviewed, only if sufficient evidence is obtained. When an investigation concludes the alleged fraud is unsubstantiated the investigation is closed with no further action. This can occur at any stage of the investigation and judgement of this is on a case by case basis and influenced only on the basis of established facts, gathered through these processes. This does not necessarily imply this is a malicious allegation.

Personal Independence Payment

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence claims in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, (b) Hackney local authority area, (c) London and (d) England have taken longer than 16 weeks to be awarded or declined.

Mr Mark Harper: Departmental statisticians are continuing to develop measures around clearance times and waiting times to ensure they provide a rounded and representative picture of personal independence payment performance, improvement activity and the claimants’ experience. These statistics will be published when they are ready, with the release pre-announced in line with United Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocols.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all allegations of benefit fraud received are investigated properly.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department ensures that all allegations of benefit fraud are considered and a decision made on the most appropriate course of action. The referral management and investigation of benefit fraud process is robust and greatest of care is taken to corroborate the information to ensure we are directing our resources appropriately. Quality checks are undertaken and where appropriate case conferences are undertaken to ensure every case progresses in a timely manner and the correct action is taken. If an investigation concludes the alleged fraud is unsubstantiated the investigation is closed with no further action. This can occur at any stage of the investigation and judgement of this is on a case by case basis and influenced only on the basis of established facts, gathered through these processes. The decision to prosecute is made by the Crown Prosecution Service or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland.

Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of Universal Credit have applied for (a) budgeting advances and (b) alternative payment arrangements; how many such applications were successful; and what the average amount awarded for a successful application has been to date.

Mr Mark Harper: The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit in September 2013 which can be found at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics   These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.   As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for Universal Credit, therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in employment and support allowance and personal independence payments on people with progressive conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.

Mr Mark Harper: Both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been designed to take full account of progressive conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s. Entitlement to both ESA and PIP is based on the impact of the claimant’s disability or health conditions. If a claimant has a progressive health condition, healthcare professionals will take this into consideration when providing advice to the Department. Both ESA and PIP are kept under constant review: Dr Paul Litchfield is due to publish the fifth and final statutory review of the Work Capability Assessment before the end of the year and Paul Gray will be publishing the first PIP independent review by the end of the year.

Children: Poverty

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the potential effect on child poverty of a freeze on (a) tax credits and (b) child benefit in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Esther McVey: Under this Government, the number of children in relative poverty has fallen by 300,000. This Government has no plans to freeze (a) tax credits or (b) child benefit. As such, there are currently no plans to provide estimates of the potential effects on child poverty of a freeze to any of these benefits. Such assessments would only be provided in reference to Government policy.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what date (a) new and (b) existing claims for employment and support allowance will end.

Mr Mark Harper: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims continue to be paid whilst a claimant continues to satisfy the conditions of entitlement. Once the Work Capability Assessment process has been completed claimants will be given a prognosis period which advises when their claim is likely to be reviewed. However, routine repeat reassessments are currently suspended for the time-being to concentrate resources on the processing of new claims.Claims to ESA only end when an individual is found to be ineligible for the benefit or there has been a significant improvement in an individual’s functional capability.

Children: Poverty

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the potential effect on child poverty of a freeze on (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) universal credit, (c) income support, (d) the work-related activity group component of employment and support allowance and (e) local housing allowance rates in housing benefit in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Esther McVey: Under this Government, the number of children in relative poverty has fallen by 300,000. This Government has no plans to freeze the main rates of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) universal credit, (c) income support, (d) the work-related activity group component of employment and support allowance and (e) local housing allowance rates in housing benefit. As such, there are currently no plans to provide estimates of the potential effects on child poverty of a freeze to any of these benefits. Such assessments would only be provided in reference to Government policy.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit applications can be processed on average manually by an adviser in a day.

Mr Mark Harper: Claims to Universal Credit are received predominantly on-line or, in a small minority, by telephone at our Service Centre. We do not manually process claims to Universal Credit.

Motability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funds the Government has provided to Motability in each of the last five years.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested is in the table below. Motability administers the Specialised Vehicles Fund (SVF) on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). DWP provides funding for the SVF which helps people who need a wheelchair accessible or heavily adapted vehicle. YearAmount (£ millions)2010/2011£ 19.2442011/2012£ 18.0362012/2013£ 18.0362013/2014£ 18.0362014/2015£ 18.036

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's projected expenditure on (a) disablity living allowance and (b) personal independence payment is in each year up to 2017-18.

Mr Mark Harper: Information on actual and forecast expenditure can be found in the following table “Outturn and forecast: Budget 2014” which can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what metrics were used to determine whether the IT systems developed to facilitate the delivery of universal credit pathfinders were fit for purpose.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what metrics will be used to determine whether the IT systems that have been developed to facilitate the delivery of universal credit roll out from early 2015 are fit for purpose.

Mr Mark Harper: DWP uses a standard methodology to design and test business processes and IT systems. These have been developed over years of best practice using external expertise and in-house practitioners who have many years of experience in delivering DWP business. These best practice methods have been used to test that the Universal Credit IT systems and business processes are complete and fit for purpose prior to roll out.

Forced Labour

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of (a) forced labour and (b) trafficking for labour exploitation were identified by the Health and Safety Executive in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: The information asked for is not held by the Health and Safety Executive.

Welfare State: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the new Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive on implementation of welfare reform.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has had one discussion with the new Minister for Social Development on implementation of welfare reform.

Post Office Card Account

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department expects to announce its decision on the future of the Post Office card account.

Steve Webb: Discussions continue between Her Majesty’s Government and Post Office LTD to consider the needs of our customers beyond the term of the current contract and announcements will be made when these discussions reach a conclusion.

Asbestos

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2014 to Question 211627, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a link between the reduction in asbestos licence holders and changes in asbestos removal activity.

Mr Mark Harper: No such assessment has been made of the number of licence holders and asbestos removal activity.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects all new applications to be for universal credit instead of for existing benefits and credits.

Mr Mark Harper: I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Official Report, 13 October 2014, column.16WS.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of applications for jobseeker's allowance used the rapid reclaim provisions in each month since May 2010.

Esther McVey: The information is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people aged between 18 and 21 claiming jobseeker's allowance who have skills levels below Level 2.

Esther McVey: The Skills for Life Survey (2011) was published by BIS in 2012. It gives the national profile of adult literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in England and assesses the impact of different skills levels on people’s lives. The Skills for Life Survey is attached in 2 parts (due to downloading restrictions). The survey covers individuals aged 16-65 in England only. The survey does not provide age breakdowns for JSA respondents so it is not possible to identify the proportion of JSA respondents aged 18 to 21 who had less than level 2 in Literacy or Numeracy. Where a claimant's lack of skills is a barrier to them finding work they will be referred either for an in-depth skills check with the National Careers Service or direct to the most appropriate training provider.



The Skills for Life Survey Part 1
(PDF Document, 1.88 MB)




The Skills for Life Survey Part 2 
(PDF Document, 1.41 MB)

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of benefit fraud committed in respect of each benefit which was attributable to identity fraud in (a) Bury St Edmunds, (b) Suffolk, (c) the East of England and (d) England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested is not readily available. This is because the data is not collated in the format requested. This information could only be provided by examining individual investigation files. This could only be conducted at disproportionate time and cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made in implementing its commitment to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Rt. Hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks), to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse, during the House of Commons debate on 23 October 2014, Official Report column 1062-1063.

Oil: Refineries

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when all licensed import and distribution terminals will be fully post-Buncefield compliant.

Dan Rogerson: In 2008 the Competent Authority (CA) published the containment policy, a framework for upgrading existing fuel sites so far as is reasonably practicable. Upgrades are being prioritised at higher risk sites and where measures are aimed at preventing release of fuel from tanks. In order to avoid disrupting operations and supplies, the upgrading work is being phased. All necessary upgrades are expected to be complete by 2028.The 87 fuel terminals and 7 refineries have already completed many of the high risk and low cost improvements required. Improvement plans for upgrading storage tanks at the fuel terminals have also been agreed with the CA and progress against plans is monitored on an annual basis. A new risk assessment method for the very large tanks at the oil refineries was agreed with the CA in October this year and the refineries will submit their upgrading plans for approval by March 2015.

Cattle: Antibiotics

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance she issues to farmers on the use of antibiotics in meat and dairy cattle; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) publishes a range of information on the responsible use of antibiotics including the Code of Practice on the Responsible Use of Animal Medicines on the Farm.The VMD also supports the various guidelines published by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) which cover all major food producing species – including dairy and beef cattle.Antibiotics are prescription only medicines; they can only be used following a diagnosis and prescription from a veterinary surgeon.

Home Office

Passports: Fraud

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many false passports have been confiscated from people (a) entering and (b) leaving the UK in each year since 2011.

James Brokenshire: The number of false travel documents, passports and national identity cards, detected by Border Force officers that have been presented by passengers arriving at the UK border since 2011 are:1,857 – 20111,652 – 20122,018 – 2013Obtaining such statistics on passengers leaving the country would incur disproportionate costs.

Illegal Immigrants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attempted clandestine entrants were identified through the use of body scanning technology at the UK's ports of entry in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The number of clandestine detections made across all UK points of entry by Body Scanning Technology since 2005 is detailed in the table below. The figures quoted are management information, subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change. Clandestine Detections data 2005-2014yearClandestine Entrants Identified Through The Use Of Body Scanning Technology (UK's ports & Juxtaposed) 2013268 2012224 2011236 2010131 2009140 2008263 2007163 2006162 2005176

Illegal Immigrants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attempted clandestine entrants were identified at the UK's points of entry by means other than body scanning technology in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The table below shows the number of detections of clandestine entrants which have been made across all UK points of entry by means other than Body Scanning Technology since 2008. Data prior to 2008 is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Clandestine detections data 2005-2014yearClandestine Entrants Identified at UK's Points Of Entry (UK Ports & juxtaposed) By Means Other Than Body Scanning Technology2013733920124645201149532010563820098746200863592007Not Available2006Not Available2005Not Available The figures quoted above are management information, subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward proposals to expand the scope of the sex offenders' register to include serial stalkers and domestic violence perpetrators.

Norman Baker: The list of qualifying offences for the sex offender notification requirements is kept under review by the Home Office. Convicted stalkers are already captured on the Police National Computer.In addition, the Home Secretary has established a National Oversight Group to ensure that the recommendations from HMIC’s March Review into domestic abuse are acted upon. This includes work to improve data collection and data sharing on serial abusers. The Home Office consultation on strengthening the law on domestic abuse closed on 15 October. We are currently considering the responses and we will consider all of the issues raised in order to determine next steps to offer the best possible protection for victims.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014 to Question 202954, how many Afghan locally engaged civilians have been granted asylum in the UK since the Minister's reply.

James Brokenshire: Thirty one Afghans, locally engaged civilians and their families, have been relocated to the United Kingdom under the Ex Gratia Redundancy Scheme to date. Beneficiaries of the scheme are not granted asylum.

Domestic Violence: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many domestic violence arrests were made in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Norman Baker: I regret that the requested arrests data are not collected centrally.

Identity Cards

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will bring forward proposals to introduce self-financing photo identity cards on a voluntary basis to establish citizenship status.

James Brokenshire: I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the then Minister for Immigration, my Hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Mark Harper), on 28 January 2014, Official Report, columns 480-481W. This Government has no plans to introduce an identity card system for British Citizens. The Biometric Residence Permit is issued to non-EEA nationals staying in the UK for more than six months. These provide evidence of the holders’ immigration status in the UK.

Entry Clearances

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken for her Department's Referred Casework Unit to review decisions of the Entry Clearance Manager in the last year; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: It is not a function of the Referred Casework Unit to review the decisions of Entry Clearance Managers. Where an Entry Clearance Manager refers an application to the Referred Casework Unit for decision, the Referred Casework Unit aims to provide a full response within an internal 15 working day service level agreement, unless further enquiries are needed. The requested data on performance against this service level agreement is not available through published statistics. However, locally held management information confirms that from the 1st April 2014 to 30th September 2014 over 99% of referrals were responded to within 15 working days.

Entry Clearances: Egypt

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she has revoked the multi-entry visa of Amr Darrag, the former Egyptian Minister for International Co-operation.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Syria

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees have been settled in the UK during the last six months; and how many such refugees she expects to arrive in the next six months.

James Brokenshire: Up until the end of June, 50 people have been relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. Statistics on arrivals are published through our official statistics at quarterly intervals and no further details on the number of arrivals will be available until the next publication on 27 November, which will include numbers to the year ending September 2014. These will be available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseThe scheme is based on need, rather than designed to meet set arrival projections. However, we will continue to bring groups here on a regular basis, and envisage that several hundred people will be helped over the next three years.

Prime Minister: Security

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will carry out an inquiry into personal protection for the Prime Minister.

James Brokenshire: As the Honourable Member is aware, the Metropolitan Police Service in conjunction with West Yorkshire Police are carrying out a review into the incident that occurred on Monday 27th October involving the Prime Minister in Leeds.Protection arrangements are kept under constant review to ensure that they remain appropriate to threat and risk and delivered in an efficient and effective manner. It is however Home Office policy not to provide information on the policing operation or security arrangements for the Prime Minister as to do so would risk compromising the integrity of those arrangements.

Gangmasters

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of exploitation have been identified by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in sectors other than the agriculture sector in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Temporary Employment

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what regulatory safeguards are in place to protect agency workers from trafficking; if she will review the effectiveness of those safeguards; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is being offered to local authorities on making referrals to the National Referral Mechanism for victims of human trafficking; and how many local authorities have undertaken such training to date.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Sri Lanka

Mr Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of returning failed asylum seekers to Sri Lanka on the ability of the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights to investigate violations of human rights in that country; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British nationals and (b) other people have had their extradition from the UK under a European arrest warrant blocked under the proportionality test in section 21A of the Extradition Act 2003 since that Act came into force.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British nationals and (b) other people have had their extradition from the UK under a European arrest warrant blocked under the provisions of section 12A of the Extradition Act 2003 since that section came into force.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Slavery

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on (a) the Telegraph Modern Slavery in Britain site, (b) the Modern Slavery advertising campaign and (c) the website www.modernslavery.co.uk; and what assessment she has made of the effects of that expenditure on awareness-raising and prevention of modern slavery.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British nationals and (b) other people have been extradited from the UK under a European arrest warrant since sections 156 and 157 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 came into force.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Extradition

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time in each of the other EU Member States between a decision to try a British national who is wanted for extradition or has been extradited for the alleged offence that is the subject of that decision and the trial for that alleged offence (a) commencing and (b) concluding.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests each police force in England has made for European arrest warrants for the extradition of individuals elsewhere in the European Union for return to the UK since July 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many European arrest warrant requests have been rejected since July 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information is provided to trafficking victims on their rights to compensation; and how many victims of trafficking have had applications for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority rejected in each of the last three years.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many National Referral Mechanism decisions made by (a) the Human Trafficking Centre and (b) UK Visas and Immigration were subject to judicial review proceedings in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013; and how many such decisions were changed as a result of successful judicial review proceedings.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to address the increase in male victims of trafficking; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what forecast she has made of the proportion of extraditions of (a) British nationals and (b) other persons sought from the UK under a European Arrest Warrant in which a decision to charge or try the wanted person will require that person's presence in the country seeking their extradition after the Police and Criminal Justice Act.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to prevent agency workers becoming victims of trafficking for labour exploitation.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide details of the methodology used to develop the annual National Crime Agency Strategic Assessment of the Nature and Scale of Human Trafficking in the UK.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arrest Warrants

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons European arrest warrants have been rejected since July 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Recruitment

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost in each budgetary category of national police recruitment campaigns was in each police force area in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not collect this information. Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce, including when and how to recruit new officers, are a matter for individual Chief Constables, working with the relevant Local Policing Body.

Immigration Controls: Aviation

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 210766, what estimate she has made of the number of flights into private airfields which were not notified to UK Border Force in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Sri Lanka

Mr Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sri Lankan asylum seekers who claimed asylum in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014, have been found to be victims of torture; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Lighting

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to implement a replacement programme to introduce LED lighting throughout her Department's buildings and sites; if she will estimate the proportion of lighting in her Department which is LED; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: As part of our commitment to energy efficiency and carbon reduction, all buildings and sites under the Department’s direct control have energy efficient lighting and, in the majority of cases, lighting control systems. At 2 Marsham Street LED lighting has been installed in architectural features and is being piloted in a meeting room and the car park. LED lighting is considered for refurbishments and new buildings where it is cost effective to do so. It is being used in part, in about 50 sites across the estate. Carbon emissions on the built estate have reduced by 32% since 2009-10.

Asylum: Sri Lanka

Mr Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sri Lankan asylum seekers who have been victims of torture have been removed to Sri Lanka in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not collate statistics on this matter. All information pertaining to an individuals asylum claim is recorded on their case file. The Home Office does not remove anyone unless they are satisfied that they are not at risk of persecution.

Police: Safety

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police officers are protected when handling dangerous calls alone.

Mike Penning: Decisions about the deployment of officers is an operational matter for Chief Constables. The management of health and safety and the provisions provided for police officers and staff is the responsibility of the individual police forces. Chief Constables have clearly set out liabilities and duties of care to their officers.

Fines

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many on-the-spot fines have been issued in each police area to date.

Mike Penning: Data on fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences broken down by police force area are provided in table 1. Data are provided from 1997 to 2012 (latest available), data for earlier years can be found in the archive link below.http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/http:/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/police-powers-archive.htmlData on penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) from 2005 (the first full year where police issued them) to 2013 (latest available), provided by the Ministry of Justice, are provided in table 2.   



Table 1 FPN Table 2 PND
(Excel SpreadSheet, 21.84 KB)

HM Treasury

Dividend Tax Credits

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the Exchequer effect of aligning the dividend tax rate with income tax rates for additional rate taxpayers.

Mr David Gauke: This is not current government policy.  The government keeps all taxes under review.

Corporation Tax

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) company headquarters and (b) jobs have been reshored in the UK since the reduction in corporation tax rates.

Mr David Gauke: Supporting businesses and helping them to invest, create jobs and to grow is a key part of the Government’s long term economic plan. Since 2010 we have already cut Corporation Tax (CT) from 28% to 21%, and next year it will fall to 20% - the joint lowest rate in the G20. The Government has also cut the small profits rate to 20%. Overall these CT cuts for large and small firms will be worth £9.5bn a year to business by 2016.   HM Treasury has not estimated the number of jobs reshored.   We will continue to work to ensure that the tax system in the UK remains competitive and enables us to attract business investment.

EU Budget

Chris Leslie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department have had responsibility for monitoring gross national income accounting changes and their effect on the UK contribution to the EU in the last 12 months.

Mr David Gauke: Economic statistics that impact upon the UK’s contribution to the EU budget such as gross national income and VAT affect a wide range of areas within HM Treasury and as a consequence will include a large number of different officials.

National Insurance Contributions: North Ayrshire

Katy Clark: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses in North Ayrshire and Arran constituency receive employment allowance.

Mr David Gauke: The latest available statistics were published on 31 July 2014 and can be found here:   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employment-allowance-new-data-reveals-benefit-of-tax-cut-for-uk-employers

Ambulance Services: VAT

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will exempt charitably-funded rapid response vehicles from VAT.

Mr David Gauke: Many already benefit from a UK zero-rate. So for example, the supply of an ambulance (including an air ambulance) that is purchased with charitable funds is zero-rated for VAT when it is supplied to an eligible body such as an NHS hospital or a charity that provides rescue or first aid services.

Tobacco

Kevin Barron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings the Exchequer Secretary has had with representatives of the tobacco industry since his appointment.

Priti Patel: A record of Ministerial meetings is published and updated periodically on the government website. For Treasury Ministers, this is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what training is provided to national minimum wage inspectors to identify cases of trafficking.

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria is used to establish whether a sector is high-risk in terms of non-compliance with the national minimum wage; and which sectors are so defined.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage very seriously. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.   Within that obligation, HMRC work to priorities agreed with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). To identify sectors where non-payment of National Minimum Wage is more likely HMRC and BIS analyse numbers of complaints and incidences of non-compliance and take account of information from, for example, other Government Departments, Trade Union representatives and the Low Pay Commission . Using this information, and often in conjunction with other Government Departments, HMRC have undertaken targeted enforcement on areas such as the care sector, car washes and the retail sector, amongst others.   However, HMRC, including National Minimum Wage officials, undertake joint working with the police, Home Office and local authorities across the country. HMRC’s collaboration has assisted in identifying instances of slavery and servitude in some of these operations.

Economic Policy

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a comparative assessment of the economic effect of (a) a target for a long-term current surplus and (b) an overall surplus target.

Andrea Leadsom: Illustrative projections published by the Treasury at Budget 2014 show that running a long-term balanced current budget would result in public sector net debt of around 60% of GDP in 2035-36, while running a long-term overall surplus of 1% of GDP would result in public sector net debt of around 32% of GDP. Lower public debt would reduce the UK’s vulnerability to future shocks as well as lower debt servicing costs.

Business: Government Assistance

Julian Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent fiscal steps he has taken to support small businesses.

Mr David Gauke: The Government's long-term economic plan is backing small businesses as they set up and grow. As part of this plan we are cutting taxes and reducing red tape to help businesses.   In particular, the employment allowance was introduced in April 2014, and allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2,000 off their employer national insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year.   In addition, autumn statement 2013 announced the extension of the doubling of small business rate relief until April 2015, taking 350,000 small businesses out of business rates.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Green Deal Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how long he expects the round of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund due to open in November 2014 to remain open.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which measures the latest round of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund will cover.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the £100 million announced for the latest round of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) is in addition to the funding previously announced for the GDHIF budget.

Amber Rudd: The £100 million announced in October 2014 is for UK-wide household energy efficiency and will be used to launch the next phase of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF). It is additional to the amount committed in vouchers issued under the first phase of GDHIF and to the £150m for household energy efficiency for each of the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 to which the Government has already committed.We are currently finalising the design for the next phase of GDHIF, and expect to announce scheme details in November.We expect demand to be strong, as it was for the first phase of the scheme.

Energy: Prices

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on the pricing structure of the energy industry.

Matthew Hancock: I have met Ofgem recently to discuss a range of issues related to energy markets.

Energy Supply

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many organisations have to date made use of the licence lite provisions with regard to energy supply established by Ofgem in 2009.

Matthew Hancock: Ofgem has received a number of partial Licence Lite applications. One of these is from the Greater London Authority, which submitted a partial application in September 2013 and is in the process of identifying its partner licensed supplier. Once the GLA has completed this process it can submit a full application, which, if received this year, Ofgem expects to make a final decision on early next year. Ofgem is also consulting on revised Licence Lite guidance to ensure applicants have the information they need to make use of the provision.

Green Deal Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the value is of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund vouchers which have been issued in each constituency.

Amber Rudd: The Department has not published any geographic breakdowns on the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2014 to Question 210445, if he will extract and publish the titles from the correspondence with the European Commission to which reference is made.

Matthew Hancock: As per the answer given to Question 210445, it is not appropriate to extract and publish the titles from correspondence with the European Commission:http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-10-14/210445/.

Fossil Fuels: Licensing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many bids were received in the 14th licensing round for onshore oil and gas.

Matthew Hancock: The 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round closed for applications on the 28th October 2014, and we have received 95 applications covering in total 295 blocks. (A block for these purposes is a 10x10 km area.) Some blocks were applied for by more than one applicant.

Fossil Fuels: Licensing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he intends to announce the awarding of licences arising from the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing round.

Matthew Hancock: The assessment of the applications received is in hand, but it is too early to say how soon the necessary work can be completed. We hope to be able to announce licence offers in the early part of 2015.

Wind Power

Robert Jenrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore wind turbine applications in the UK were (a) approved and (b) rejected in the year to October 2014.

Amber Rudd: The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of projects through the planning system:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-energy-planning-data.The September 2014 version of the REPD shows that in 2014, 139 onshore wind installations in the UK had received planning consent and 189 had been refused. The dates for approval and refusal reflects the date of determination of appeal (where appeal decision reached), otherwise the date of determination of original application.

Wind Power: Nottinghamshire

Robert Jenrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore wind turbine applications in Nottinghamshire were (a) approved and (b) rejected in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014 to date.

Amber Rudd: The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of projects through the planning system:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-energy-planning-dataThe September 2014 version of the REPD shows the planning applications for onshore wind installations in Nottinghamshire, which have been approved and refused, as follows: 2012 20132014 to dateApproved141Refused244Note: The dates for approval and refusal reflects the date of determination of appeal (where appeal decision reached), otherwise the date of determination of original application.

Wind Power: Nottinghamshire

Robert Jenrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore wind turbine applications in Nottinghamshire were (a) approved and (b) rejected in 2010.

Amber Rudd: The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of projects through the planning system:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-energy-planning-data.The September 2014 version of the REPD shows that, in 2010, one onshore wind installation in the Nottinghamshire had received planning consent and one had been refused. The dates for approval and refusal reflects the date of determination of appeal (where appeal decision reached), otherwise the date of determination of original application.

Wind Power: Nottinghamshire

Robert Jenrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore wind turbine applications in Nottingham were (a) approved and (b) rejected in 2011.

Amber Rudd: The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of projects through the planning system:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-energy-planning-data.The September 2014 version of the REPD shows that in 2011, no onshore wind installations in the City of Nottingham had received planning consent and none had been refused. The dates for approval and refusal reflects the date of determination of appeal (where appeal decision reached), otherwise the date of determination of original application.

Energy Supply: Northern Ireland

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with power companies on their preparations for bad weather events in Northern Ireland.

Matthew Hancock: Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland, and the responsibility of the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Northern Ireland. I have had no conversations with power companies in Northern Ireland about their preparations for bad weather.

Northern Ireland Office

Parades

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will hold discussions with her ministerial colleagues on including parading rights in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The recently convened cross-party talks offer an opportunity for the Northern Ireland parties to consider issues around parading and rights.

Orchestras: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will take steps to secure funding for the Ulster Orchestra; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I am aware of the difficulties that the Ulster Orchestra is facing in respect of securing funding but this is a devolved matter and is for the authorities in Northern Ireland to consider.

Afghanistan

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will take steps to arrange a service of thanksgiving for people from Northern Ireland who served in Afghanistan and a commemoration for those members of the armed forces from Northern Ireland who died in that country on active service; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I will raise this matter with my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. The hon Lady will wish to be aware that at this time there is a Royal Irish Regiment Service of Remembrance held annually at St. Anne’s Cathedral in which respect is paid to the Regimental fallen from all conflicts including Afghanistan.

Drugs: Misuse

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many drug-related arrests have been made in Northern Ireland since 2010.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The Northern Ireland Office does not hold the information requested as it relates to a devolved matter. The hon Gentleman may wish to write to the Department of Justice regarding the information requested.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to permit the (a) Maritime Heritage Foundation and (b) Odyssey Marine Exploration, to sell material recovered from the wreck site of HMS Victory 1744.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Clause 2 of the Deed of Gift prevents the Maritime Heritage Foundation (MHF) from selling, giving or otherwise disposing of anything transferred under the Deed without the express consent of the Secretary of State for Defence.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who has made representations to his Department on the future management of HMS Victory 1744; and what the content was of such representations.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS has received a number of representations regarding HMS Victory. Representations were received from the following organisations which contained a range of views on the future management of HMS Victory 1744: Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites; Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology; Alderney Maritime Trust; Archaeologist - Bournemouth University; Archaeologist - University of St Andrews; Augurship 320 Ltd; Representatives of the Balchin Family; Representative of the Temple-West Family; BG Energy Holdings Ltd; British Sub Aqua Club; Council for British Archaeology; Diver-British Sub Aqua Club; English Heritage; Falmouth Divers Ltd; Former Premier of Bermuda G P Resorts (USA); History Hunters International; International Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage; Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee; Lecturer in Archaeology-Institute of Archaeology; Maritime Historian Mary Rose Trust; Members of the Public, from the UK and overseas (mainly USA); Ministry of Defence-Defence Equipment & Spares (Salvage and Moorings Operation); National Maritime Museum; Nautical Archaeology Society; Nelson Society; Odyssey Marine Exploration; Ordnance Historian; Ordnance Researcher; Planet Electronics Ltd; ProMare UK; Professional Association of Diving Instructors; Professor of Archaeology - Institute of Archaeologists; Receiver of Wreck; Rescue-The British Archaeological Trust; Retired Archaeologist; Seaquest Ltd; Searex Inc; Society of Antiquaries; Student of Archaeology - Warwick University; UNESCO; USA Publisher; Wreck Watch.

Lighting

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to implement a replacement programme to introduce LED lighting throughout his Department's buildings and sites; if he will estimate the proportion of lighting in his Department which is LED; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Helen Grant: DCMS occupies two buildings – 100 Parliament Street and Queen’s Yard.100 Parliament Street is occupied under an agreement with HMRC, who have responsibility for the building services, including lighting.Queen's Yard is a leased building and houses the Government Art Collection. There are no plans to install LED lighting on this site.

Deputy Prime Minister

By-elections

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average cost to the public purse was of parliamentary by-elections since May 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The mean average cost of a UK Parliamentary by-election, based upon by-elections held between May 2010 and May 2013 is £226,091. By-elections held after this date do not currently have specific costs as claims have not yet been submitted and finalised.

Department of Health

Drugs: Misuse

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of legal highs upon public health.

Jane Ellison: There have been a number of assessments of the health harms of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in recent years. These include the following:   - a summary of the health harms of drugs published by the Department in August 2011 sets out an assessment of the health harms of novel psychoactive drugs among others. The report outlined acute and chronic problems associated these substances, but the date of the evidence review meant it was early to determine the actual harms of the NPS;   - the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published its report ‘Consideration of the Novel Psychoactive Substances (‘Legal Highs’)’ in 2011. The report includes an assessment of the harms that these drugs cause; - since 2010, the ACMD has published a number of reports on their assessment of different types of NPS, including the harms they cause. The drugs the ACMD have reported on include tryptamines, NBOMe compounds, benzofurans, O-desmethyltramadol, methoxetamine, synthetic cannabinoids, and 2-DPMP (Ivory Wave);   - on 30 October 2014, the Home Office published the report of an expert panel they appointed to look at the issue of NPS and provide recommendations to the Government. Alongside the report and the Government response, the Home Office also published an NPS evidence review. The evidence review found that that the available evidence suggests that the overall harms from NPS are low compared to the overall harms from traditional illicit drugs; - the Government’s Drugs Early Warning System (DEWS) helps ensure that harmful new substances are rapidly identified. Local and national intelligence gathered by DEWS – including health harms – assists the ACMD in its assessment of harms of NPS. On a broader scale, national intelligence is fed into a Europe-wide early warning system for new substances;   - FRANK, the government’s drug information service, has information about the harms caused by NPS; and   - Public Health England (PHE) is supporting and contributing clinical expertise to the first set of clinical guidelines on the acute management and treatment of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Project NEPTUNE will advise clinicians on how to assess and respond to NPS related harm and is currently being developed by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. The guidelines are due to be published in 2015. PHE has committed to using its networks and other resources to support the dissemination of project NEPTUNE’s findings and advice.

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2014 to the Urgent Question on Five Year Forward View, Official Report, column 1044, if he will ensure that the University Hospital of Hartlepool is included in the work to create new organisational models for smaller acute hospitals.

Jane Ellison: The work announced in the Five Year Forward View relating to work to create new organisational models for smaller acute hospitals is now being developed by NHS England, Monitor, the Trust Development Authority, the Care Quality Commission, Public Health England and Health Education England. Sector involvement will be essential to this future work and more details about how they will be taking this work forward, and who they will be engaging, will be announced by them in due course.

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2014 to the Urgent Question on Five Year Forward View, Official Report, column 1044, if he will ensure that the University Hospital of Hartlepool is included in the work conducted by Monitor on (a) the costs of running smaller hospitals, (b) models of medical staffing and (c) other ways of achieving sustainable cost structures.

Jane Ellison: The work announced in the Five Year Forward View on the costs of running smaller hospitals, models of medical staffing and other ways of achieving sustainable cost structures is now being developed by NHS England, Monitor, the Trust Development Authority, the Care Quality Commission, Public Health England and Health Education England. Sector involvement will be essential to this future work and more details about how they will be taking this work forward, and who they will be engaging, will be announced by them in due course.

Ebola

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has carried out a risk assessment of the threat posed to the UK by the Ebola epidemic.

Jane Ellison: The Department continues to work with colleagues across government to monitor and assess the risk posed to the United Kingdom by the current Ebola epidemic. The advice from the Chief Medical Officer is that the public health risk in the UK remains low. I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt) on 13 October 2014, Official Report, columns 28-30.

General Practitioners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many locum GPs there are in (a) Walsall South constituency and (b) England.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This data is not held centrally. This is because each general practitioner practice provides their own service/staffing arrangements so the information could only be gathered by asking all the individual practices.   Neither Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group of the local NHS England Area Team have the locum numbers for the constituency (Walsall) and there is no national data available.

General Practitioners: Merseyside

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices have (a) opened and (b) closed in (i) Merseyside and (ii) Knowsley in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The data requested is shown in the following table.   These figures include practice mergers and takeovers and do not provide an accurate representation of activity or service provision for patients. For example, the merger of three practices may show as three practices closing and one opening, or alternatively, as three practices closing and none opening (where two practices merge into another already existing practice).2014 to 30 September20132012201120102009Closed: Mersey Area Team (excluding Wirral)131222Opened: Mersey Area Team (excluding Wirral)0000112   Closed: Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team243321Opened: Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team100014   Closed: NHS Knowsley Clinial Commissioning Group000000Opened: NHS Knowsley Clinical Commissioning Group000004 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes:  Figures are presented for the Mersey Area Team and the Cheshire, Warrington & Wirral Area Team covering the following CCGs:   Mersey Area Team 01F NHS Halton CCG 01J NHS Knowsley CCG 01T NHS South Sefton CCG 01V NHS Southport and Formby CCG 01X NHS St Helens CCG 99A NHS Liverpool CCG   Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team 01C NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG 01R NHS South Cheshire CCG 02D NHS Vale Royal CCG 02E NHS Warrington CCG 02F NHS West Cheshire CCG 12F NHS Wirral CCG   When summed together the two sets of Area Team figures comprise the “Merseyside” area.

General Practitioners

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that funding for the refurbishment and replacement of GP premises is made available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: NHS England is now responsible for the funding of general practice premises refurbishment and replacement in accordance with the National Health Services (General Medical Services - Premises Cost) Directions 2013.   NHS England will soon be publishing Principles of Best Practice that set out how area teams should review and prioritise bids for development, enabling funding to be made available where necessary.

Hospitals: Stockton on Tees

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost has been of the application for a new hospital at Wynyard by the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust; and whether the costs will be reimbursed into the local health economy via the clinical commissioning group.

Jane Ellison: This is a matter for the National Health Service locally.   We have written to Paul Garvin, Chair of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Pancreatic Cancer

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the effect of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's three month end of life threshold on the appraisal of treatments for advanced pancreatic cancer.

George Freeman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 209582

Pancreatic Cancer

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's technology appraisal criteria in relation to the provision of new treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer.

George Freeman: We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is an independent body and is responsible for the development of its methods and processes, which it periodically updates in consultation with stakeholders.

Medical Equipment: West Midlands

Mrs Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure the routine commissioning of cough assist machines in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my Rt. hon Friend, the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Andrew Mitchell) on 27 October 2014 to Question 211129.

Prostate Cancer: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2014 to Question 209881, when he expects to announce a decision on allowing an application for a second Patient Access scheme for Zytiga (abiraterone); and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to my answer of 17 October 2014 to Question 209881.

Out-patients

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Health and Social Care Information Centre next plans to review the list of treatment function codes for outpatient procedures.

Dr Daniel Poulter: In order for codes relating to new treatment functions to flow to the Secondary Uses Service, the national repository for secondary care data, a revision to Commissioning Data Sets is required. The last revision was in September 2012 and at present there are no plans for a subsequent version in the near future.

Continence: Young People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Health and Social Care Information Centre on the inclusion of a specific treatment function code for paediatric continence.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Paediatric continence has not been submitted for consideration as a new treatment function.   The guidelines for proposal and acceptance of new Treatment Functions can be found at:   http://www.isb.nhs.uk/documents/isb-0028/amd-17-2012/index_html   Of particular relevance is the document that relates to acceptance criteria for a new Treatment Function.   Proposals for new Treatment Functions can be logged by contacting the Health and Social Care Information Centre Enquiries on enquiries@hscic.gov.uk

Out-patients

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential financial effect of NHS healthcare trusts failing to properly record data on outpatient procedures.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information is not collected centrally, therefore no assessment has been made.   The Audit Commission published a report in April 2012, By definition - Improving data definitions and their use by the NHS. The report identified that the decision as to whether activity should be recorded (and paid) as an inpatient or outpatient is often down to local discretion, yet its impact on finances can be considerable.

Constipation: Children

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital admissions there were for constipation in children in 2013; and what the estimated cost to the NHS was of treating such admissions.

Dr Daniel Poulter: In 2012-13, Hospital Episode Statistics for England recorded 13,037 admissions with a primary diagnosis of constipation, for patients aged 18 years or under. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.   We are advised that NHS England does not collect information centrally on the cost of treating these admissions.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a quality standard on constipation in children and young people in May 2014 which can be found at:   www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs62/informationforpublic

Prescription Drugs

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether medicines which do not meet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) Technology Appraisal and Highly Specialised Technologies prioritisation criteria or fall outside NICE's remit are automatically referred to NHS England for an appraisal.

George Freeman: We are informed by NHS England that it will only consider those medicines that it is responsible for through its directly commissioned services, primarily specialised commissioning.   Where the National institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is unlikely to appraise a medicine, the specialised services clinical reference group will be asked to review the evidence for the medicine in question and draft a clinical commissioning policy.   Those medicines that fall outside NHS England’s direct commissioning responsibility will need to be considered by individual clinical commissioning groups.   Medicines that are not recommended by NICE are generally not considered by NHS England for routine commissioning.

Prescription Drugs

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria a newly licensed medicine must fulfil in order to be considered for an interim clinical commissioning policy by NHS England; and what the process is for establishing such a policy by NHS England.

George Freeman: We are informed by NHS England that the only criteria required are that the medicine falls within NHS England’s responsibility for directly commissioned services and that the medicine will not be reviewed through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes.   Under certain circumstances, for example, where there is a clinical urgency to provide access to a particular medicine prior to receiving final guidance from NICE, NHS England may adopt an interim policy.   Draft policies produced by the relevant clinical reference group are endorsed by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group and then confirmed by the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group.

Down's Syndrome

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with Down’s syndrome there were in the UK aged (a) under 15, (b) 15 to 30, (c) 30 to 50 and (d) over 50 on the latest date for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: The information is not held centrally. The National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR) estimates that in 2012, 775 babies were born with Down’s syndrome in England and Wales. The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme reports that there are approximately 60,000 people with the condition currently living in the United Kingdom.   The NDSCR was established in 1989 and collects all cytogenetic or DNA reports of trisomies 21, 18 and 13 and their cytogenetic variants occurring in England and Wales. These data are used to (1) monitor the Down syndrome antenatal screening and diagnostic services (2) provide data on annual numbers of affected births to help those planning for their health, educational and social care and (3) provide information for research into Down, Edwards and Patau syndromes. Further information is available from the NDCSR annual reports that appear on the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine Queen Mary University of London website:   http://www.wolfson.qmul.ac.uk/current-projects/downs-syndrome-register

Caesarean Sections

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to reduce the number of births by caesarean section in the UK.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Government expects that caesarean sections are managed in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline CG132, “Caesarean Section”, published in November 2011. This guideline does not seek to define acceptable caesarean rates. Rather it recommends that if a woman requests a caesarean section without clinical indication, a discussion about the risks and benefits of caesarean section compared with vaginal birth should take place with members of the maternity team, including the midwife, obstetrician and anaesthetist. This will enable all aspects of her wishes and circumstances to be taken into account and ensure the risks and benefits to the mother and baby are properly understood.

Caesarean Sections

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission research to investigate the potential link between births by caesarean section and the incidence of autism and ADHD.

George Freeman: The Department has no plans to commission research on this topic. The Department's National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including potential links between births by caesarean section and the incidence of autism and ADHD. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

NHS: Staff

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department is providing to assist NHS hospitals in implementing the systems and processes required to efficiently capture, manage and publish safe staffing numbers.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Safe staffing numbers are published on NHS Choices – for the first time in the NHS’ history under this government.   NHS Choices is a Department of Health funded programme, commissioned by NHS England and delivered by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. As part of this funding, NHS England commissioned NHS Choices to create a patient safety hub and publish safety-related data, including safe staffing numbers.   A core facility of NHS Choices includes hospital profiles which are editable and managed by hospitals themselves. NHS hospitals have been publishing staffing information on their profiles since June 2014.

NHS: Staff

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned on the effect that publishing safe staffing data has on patient choice.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department has not commissioned any research on the effect that publishing safe staffing data has on patient choice.   Sir Robert Francis QC’s report into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust recommendations led to fundamental changes in the health and care system supporting a culture of transparency and openness. The Inquiry showed that transparency is an important driver of more efficient, higher-quality services. It empowers patients by making available information to patients and the public and improves outcomes for all.   NHS Choices has introduced My NHS which incorporates patient safety indicators. The data on My NHS includes mandatory reporting of monthly actual and planned staffing levels by hospital wards.

Nurses

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned on the potential benefits of real-time reporting of nurse staffing numbers at NHS hospitals.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department is seeking to commission a strategic initiative of research to evaluate the Government’s response to the Francis report and help inform future policy. It is planned that the initiative will initially comprise six projects, including a project on safe staffing levels. The specification document for the call for research proposals is available on the Policy Research Programme Central Commissioning Facility website at the following address:   http://www.prp-ccf.org.uk/PRPFiles/Evaluation%20of%20response%20to%20Francis%20Inquiry%20-%20ITT%20v1.pdf   However, data in relation to safe staffing numbers is currently published on NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk).

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had on ensuring that the payments made by the pharmaceutical industry under the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme will be used to improve access to innovative medicines.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that payments made by the pharmaceutical industry under the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme are used to NHS England to achieve measurable and improved access to new medicines by NHS patients.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to use the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme to make the UK (a) a global leader in providing patients access to the most innovative appropriate medicines and (b) an attractive place for pharmaceutical companies to locate and invest.

George Freeman: The 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) supports the National Health Service to improve patient access to clinically and cost effective medicines in a number of ways:   - by making medicines more affordable. The PPRS limits growth in the vast majority of spend on branded medicines with industry making payments for spend above the agreed limit;   - by providing stability and predictability to the Government and the pharmaceutical industry thereby promoting a strong and profitable pharmaceutical industry which encourages innovation and the development of high value treatments; and   - by a number of agreed measure to improve access to branded medicines commensurate with the outcomes they offer patients.   Sales of new products are exempt from PPRS payments though still included in the overall limit on growth and the payments made by industry as a whole. This creates a strong in-built incentive in the scheme for companies to innovate.  In respect of England, the anticipated PPRS payments for 2014-15 were passed on to NHS England through the Mandate and as such were included within commissioner allocations. In addition, an indicative budget for NHS England for 2015-16 was set on the basis of, amongst other things, the PPRS payment forecast available in 2014.   In accordance with normal Government accounting rules and the agreed PPRS, there is no separately identified or ring-fenced funding stream associated with PPRS payments. Nevertheless, the Government can provide an assurance that all PPRS payments received for England will be used for spending on improving patients’ health and care. As part of this, following discussion with the Department, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry are now pressing ahead with plans to improve access to and optimise the use of medicines to improve patient outcomes.   More generally, the Government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences sets out an ambitious long-term programme of action to improve the wider environment for pharmaceutical innovation and make the United Kingdom a world-leading place for life sciences investment. The Strategy has delivered £2 billion in industry and private sector investment in the United Kingdom since it was launched in December 2011.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services prevalence survey.

Norman Lamb: The Department is currently commissioning a survey into the prevalence of children and young people’s mental health problems. It will not be possible to predict when the results will be published until the scoping exercise is completed and the final specification is agreed and tendered. The main work on the survey, including the data collection, is currently expected to take place in the financial year 2015-16.

Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what elements in NHS England's Five Year Plan other than Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service impatient beds specifically relate to children.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Five Year Forward View is a publically available document. It lists a number of initiatives specifically targeted at children, such as a commitment to target obesity in children. The NHS leadership articulates an ambition to radically redesign and improve care through developing new care models in partnership with local communities. The vision is of approaches to organising care that are more integrated, more responsive and more tailored to the needs of local populations. Children represent one of the most significant groups of users of health services, and should therefore expect to be amongst the major beneficiaries of these improvements in the health system.

NHS: Leadership

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects that Sir Stuart Rose's report on NHS Leadership will be published.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Lord Rose’s report on NHS Leadership will be handed to the Secretary of State for Health before the end of this calendar year. It is expected to be published shortly thereafter.

Exercise

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information on the Chief Medical Officer's physical activity guidelines is included in the curriculum for (a) trainee doctors, (b) trainee nurse, (c) trainee health visitors and (d) other medical students.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.   The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) sets standards for education to make sure nurses have the right skills and qualities when they start work. They also set standards for education throughout nurses’ careers, after they initially qualify. The NMC also sets the standards for education of pre-registration health visitors.   Medical schools design curricula for undergraduate medical education. In doing so they must ensure that teaching meets the standards of the GMC in order to both gain and maintain GMC recognition of their course.   We would expect bodies with responsibility for curricular to, where appropriate, ensure it reflected changing practice and for example the role that physical health can and does play in ensuring those in their care remain fit and healthy.

Exercise

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to communicate the Chief Medical Officer's physical activity guidelines to frontline medical professionals.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to monitor implementation of the Chief Medical Officer's physical activity guidelines to ensure that members of the public are reaching the recommended levels of physical activity.

Jane Ellison: The Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) guidelines were published in ‘Start Active Stay Active’ in 2011. There are five factsheets for each age group which accompanies the report and it sets out examples to meet the recommended levels of physical activity. This information is widely available.   In October 2014, Public Health England (PHE) published ‘Everybody Active Every Day’. This places physical activity at the heart of the public health message, building on the CMO’s guidelines and setting out the evidence base for what works to get people active at a population scale. PHE will monitor its progress and measure its impact over time. The Department has also recently commissioned PHE to look into how we can develop more effective messaging on physical activity so that more people are aware of the CMO’s guidelines.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the new waiting time standards for adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) apply to children and adolescents' IAPT.

Norman Lamb: The Department of Health has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what circumstances Alternative Provider Medical Services contracts are used by NHS England; and how many such contracts were used in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what circumstances General Medical Services contracts are used by NHS England; and how many such contracts were used in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

Dr Daniel Poulter: General Medical Services (GMS) contracts are used in circumstances where at least one contractor is to be a General Medical Practitioner - there is provision for others to be partners in GMS contracts such as a National Health Service employee or a health care professional, providing services under the NHS Act 2006, but at least one partner must be a general practitioner (GP).   Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contracts are used where NHS England wants to offer the contract to a wider range of providers. These contracts may be held by independent or voluntary sector providers and other NHS providers as well as GP contractors.   The following table shows the numbers of practices by contract type for the years requested. 2014 data is not yet available. 20092010201120122013GMS4,5544,5384,5814,4584,345APMS173262275260271